Stop the flooding

When I ran for mayor of Hatch, my top priority for the Village of Hatch and our surrounding colonias was simple and unyielding: Stop the flooding. Stop living in a state -of-emergency.

That platform was forged in the aftermath of the devastating 2006 flood. Back then, I advocated hard for a new Spring Canyon Dam. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers came in and made an assessment, and legislators made attempts to secure funding for a new dam—only for our community to end up with a superficial facelift. Officials operated under the naive assumption that surrounding structures couldn't be damaged if neighboring dams in poor condition breached.

Yet, after that minimal work was finished, out-of-town politicians still showed up in Hatch to take credit for a job well done — all men standing around in their too-tight suits while I watched from the sidelines at this incredible, fake show.

Today, I am putting every responsible agency, regional council, and elected official ON NOTICE: You have atrociously failed the citizens of the Hatch Valley.

I am not just raising my voice in frustration — I am taking direct action. I have already reached out to attorneys who specialize in failed infrastructure and government accountability. The era of accepting bureaucratic delays, neglected levees, and unmaintained dams while our community pays the price is over.

From the South Central Council of Governments to state legislators and county commissions, regional planners have repeatedly overlooked the total flood threat facing our valley. When dams overflow or breached arroyos spill over, it isn’t just roads that wash away. Essential community lifelines, like the rural drinking water systems managed by the Garfield Mutual Domestic Water Association, are put at severe risk of contamination, threatening public health across our outlying colonias.

The history of our valley has always been defined by a harsh paradox: water is our agricultural lifeblood, yet it remains our constant threat. In the 19th century, before upstream controls existed, spring snowmelts and summer monsoons sent the uncontrolled Rio Grande spilling into our fields.

When Elephant Butte Dam was constructed in the early 1900s, it successfully tamed the main river stem, but it shifted our primary danger to arroyo flash flooding—torrential runoff pouring out of dry canyons into the valley basin.

Generation after generation has felt the impact. From the record rains of September 1941 to the historic destruction of August 2006, our residents have repeatedly had to rebuild. And as recent floodwaters once again closed highways, breached aging structures like the McLeod Dam, and forced families from their homes, we are reminded that rural flood protection in New Mexico remains trapped in a cycle of reactive band-aids.  

When disaster strikes, public officials are quick to praise the resilience of our community. Local first responders, farmers, and neighbors always step up to dig each other out. But community resilience is not an excuse for governmental negligence.

Emergency aid after a flood is necessary, but proactive infrastructure before the storm is a fundamental legal and moral duty. Upgrading aging dams, constructing the long-promised Spring Canyon Dam, reinforcing drainage channels, securing drinking water systems, and expanding regional watershed planning across Doña Ana, Luna and Sierra counties are investments that save homes, safeguard our agricultural heritage, and protect human lives.

The history of the Hatch Valley shows that these floods are neither new nor unexpected. What must change is the political window dressing. State and federal leaders must stop treating rural flood mitigation as a photo-op and start delivering the comprehensive dam and arroyo protection our families were promised.

The people who sustain the Hatch Valley have proven their strength time and again. It is time for our leaders to stop making excuses, take notice, and finally build infrastructure equal to our grit.